With that caveat in mind, here's a suggestion: You should really follow Roscosmos on Facebook and Twitter. Their Western social media footprint is modest (4,000 Facebook likes, compared to NASA's 6.4 million), but they post updates daily—especially on Facebook. It's there that you'll find the contributions of cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev, who currently serves as a flight engineer for Expedition 40. Artemyev was born in Latvia within the boundaries of the Soviet Union. He served in the Soviet army, and participated in the Mars-500 long-duration crew experiment.

Both Twitter and Facebook do a pretty good job translating Russian to English, so it's not hard to follow along (assuming you speak English but not Russian). Roscosmos posts gobs of Artemyev's ISS photographs to Facebook. They also show up on Artemyev's blog, Twitter and Instagram accounts. Many are oblique shots, probably taken from the station's Russian segment. To me, they have a pleasant tinge of unfamiliarity. Here are a few of my favorites.

Oleg Artemyev / Roscosmos

South Georgia island

South Georgia is a remote island in the southern Atlantic Ocean.

Oleg Artemyev / Roscosmos

ATV-5 and a waning moon

A waning moon greets the European Space Agency's ATV-5 supply spacecraft as it prepares to dock with the International Space Station.

Oleg Artemyev / Roscosmos

Eye of the Sahara

The Richat Structure, known as the Eye of the Sahara, is a geologic landmark in the North African country of Mauritania.

Roscosmos

Find the parachutes with Oleg Artemyev

Cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev poses in the Russian segment of the International Space Station. The original Facebook caption congratulates Russian paratroopers on a recent holiday, and prompts viewers to count the number of parachutes in the photograph. Artemyev is quoted in the caption, saying potential cosmonauts undergo parachute training, and that his safe return to Earth is dependent on a parachute.

Oleg Artemyev / Roscosmos

Progress M-23M departs

The Progress M-23M spacecraft departs from the ISS on July 22, 2014. The vehicle's serial number, 427, is hand-written on the docking hatch.

Oleg Artemyev / Roscosmos

Squished supermoon

The Earth's atmosphere distorts an image of the moon as it sets on Aug. 10, 2014. The full moon coincided with its closest approach to Earth, resulting in a so-called "supermoon."